‘Little House’ star launches cookbook tour at Iowa City, Cedar Rapids libraries

CEDAR RAPIDS - Actress Melissa Gilbert burst into tears when she saw how many people turned out Tuesday afternoon for her booking signing and talk at the Cedar Rapids Public Library.

A standing-room-only crowd of about 250 filled the Whipple Auditorium. An additional 30 fans watched a video feed in an overflow room as Gilbert reminisced about her career, including her years as Laura Ingalls Wilder on television's 'Little House on the Prairie.”

She spoke about home, life and the importance food has played every step of the way, which she has parlayed into 'My Prairie Cookbook.” Part cookbook, part scrapbook, it features her own comfort-food recipes and recollections.

All 97 copies were quickly snapped up, and Gilbert signed each one after her talk and posed for photos.

She even posed with the entire crowd at the start of event, arms outstretched.

Gilbert, 50, who now lives in Michigan and will become a grandmother in November, said she was thrilled to launch her book tour in Iowa, bringing her 'Little House” experience full circle to the Midwest, where she now lives and where the stories were born.

'Starting on the prairie, ending on the prairie,” she said.

Janel Lutz, 42, of Cedar Rapids, crossed another item off her bucket list when she, her mother and sister queued up at 10:30 a.m. for the 2 p.m. event presented by New Bo Books.

Another signing was slated for 7 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library, organized by Prairie Lights Books.

'I've been watching ‘Little House' since I was little,” said Lutz, who recently battled leukemia and watched the show again during her treatments. 'When you're not feeling good, it's just a feel-good show.”

Even though she doesn't cook, she bought the cookbook for her 6-year-old daughter who 'loves to cook and bake.”

In a sea of mostly middle-aged and elderly female faces, Mount Mercy nursing student Kayla Gingerich, 18, of Oxford, skipped classes to claim her space in the front row. She said she has all the books and all the television seasons on DVD.

'Melissa Gilbert was my childhood hero,” she said, clutching her new cookbook. 'I can't wait to show my boyfriend all my new recipes.”

Warren Holst, 76, of Cedar Rapids, was one of the few male faces in the crowd. He said he willingly 'tagged along” with his wife and sister-in-law, and enjoys watching the show in reruns.

He said his wife is 'a very good cook,” so perhaps he'll get to sample such goodies as Gilbert's signature fried chicken and 'fancy” beef stew.

The latter is based on the actress' boeuf bourguignon recipe, which she said is vast improvement over the canned beef stew the Ingalls family ate on-screen.

Sheryl Bequeaith, 68, of Cedar Rapids, had her picture taken with Gilbert's husband, actor Timothy Busfield, at the recent 'Field of Dreams” 25th anniversary celebration on the film site near Dyersville.

'I thought I'd better get the other half” of the Hollywood couple on her camera, she said with a smile.

Gilbert was relaxed, chatty and very open as she answered questions from moderator Kim Flugga-Ciha, manager at New Bo Books in southeast Cedar Rapids, as well as questions from the audience. When Flugga-Ciha asked for one word to describe her recipes, Gilbert replied, 'Yum!”

She said all the recipes are easy enough for anyone to tackle.

'There's even a couple souffles in there. Don't be afraid of souffles,” she said. 'They're really not that detailed. They're really fun to serve. ...

'All of these recipes are recipes that my family loved.”